[1]Kodambakkam, situated in the heart of the city is otherwise known as the hub of Tamil cinema, which attracts hundreds of cinema aspirants from nook and corner of the state.
Infact, several yester year actors have admitted walking from pillar to post seeking a chance in cinema during TV interviews.
But, today a walk along the lanes of Kodambakkam is not an easy task as majority of pavements are encroached.
Residents have been deprived of both walking and parking space. Adding to their woes, hawkers and shop owners continue to encroach, as the civic body has been a sleeping giant over the issue.
“There is no platform for pedestrians to walk on. Most pavements in the locality are either being utilised for parking vehicles or to put up make shift shops,” complained Murali, a resident.
“Last month the civic authorities removed encroachments along the station view road, yet the hawkers keep coming back. There is no solution to this problem,” he added.
“I have two cars, but I hardly take my car out fearing traffic congestion. Vehicles are parked on either side of the road leaving no space for us. Corporation must act immediately to resolve the problem,” said Ganesan a government employee.
In a reply to an RTI filed last year, the civic body revealed that over 5% of the footpath in (Kodambakkam) is encroached by hawkers.
When contacted, a senior corporation official said, “Survey is being conducted in all 16 divisions of the zone to collect data about encroachments.
Soon steps will be taken to clear all encroachments. After the expansion of Chennai Corporation, several wards have experienced shortage of manpower, which is one of the reasons for the delay in evicting encroachers.”
“Earlier, we have removed obstructions, but the hawkers occupy another spot close to the one they had occupied previously. We also plan to conduct periodical inspection in all wards of Kodambakkam zone to curb the menace,” he added.
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